TEDYouth 2014
Kenneth Shinozuka: My simple invention, designed to keep my grandfather safe
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60% of people with dementia wander off, an issue that can prove hugely stressful for both patients and caregivers. In this charming talk, hear how teen inventor Kenneth Shinozuka came up with a novel solution to help his night-wandering grandfather and the aunt who looks after him ... and how he hopes to help others with Alzheimer's.
Kenneth Shinozuka - Smart product inventor
Kenneth Shinozuka designs smart products ... He's been doing so since he was in kindergarten. Full bio
Kenneth Shinozuka designs smart products ... He's been doing so since he was in kindergarten. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
What's the fastest growing threat
to Americans' health?
to Americans' health?
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Cancer? Heart attacks? Diabetes?
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The answer is actually none of these;
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it's Alzheimer's disease.
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Every 67 seconds,
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someone in the United States
is diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
is diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
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As the number of Alzheimer's patients
triples by the year 2050,
triples by the year 2050,
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caring for them, as well as
the rest of the aging population,
the rest of the aging population,
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will become an overwhelming
societal challenge.
societal challenge.
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My family has experienced firsthand
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the struggles of caring
for an Alzheimer's patient.
for an Alzheimer's patient.
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Growing up in a family
with three generations,
with three generations,
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I've always been very close
to my grandfather.
to my grandfather.
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When I was four years old,
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my grandfather and I
were walking in a park in Japan
were walking in a park in Japan
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when he suddenly got lost.
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It was one of the scariest moments
I've ever experienced in my life,
I've ever experienced in my life,
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and it was also the first
instance that informed us
instance that informed us
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that my grandfather
had Alzheimer's disease.
had Alzheimer's disease.
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Over the past 12 years,
his condition got worse and worse,
his condition got worse and worse,
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and his wandering in particular
caused my family a lot of stress.
caused my family a lot of stress.
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My aunt, his primary caregiver,
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really struggled to stay awake at night
to keep an eye on him,
to keep an eye on him,
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and even then often failed
to catch him leaving the bed.
to catch him leaving the bed.
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I became really concerned
about my aunt's well-being
about my aunt's well-being
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as well as my grandfather's safety.
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I searched extensively for a solution
that could help my family's problems,
that could help my family's problems,
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but couldn't find one.
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Then, one night about two years ago,
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I was looking after my grandfather
and I saw him stepping out of the bed.
and I saw him stepping out of the bed.
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The moment his foot landed on the floor,
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I thought, why don't I put
a pressure sensor on the heel of his foot?
a pressure sensor on the heel of his foot?
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Once he stepped onto the floor
and out of the bed,
and out of the bed,
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the pressure sensor would detect an
increase in pressure caused by body weight
increase in pressure caused by body weight
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and then wirelessly send an audible alert
to the caregiver's smartphone.
to the caregiver's smartphone.
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That way, my aunt could sleep
much better at night
much better at night
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without having to worry
about my grandfather's wandering.
about my grandfather's wandering.
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So now I'd like to perform
a demonstration of this sock.
a demonstration of this sock.
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Could I please have
my sock model on the stage?
my sock model on the stage?
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Great.
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So once the patient
steps onto the floor --
steps onto the floor --
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(Ringing) --
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an alert is sent
to the caregiver's smartphone.
to the caregiver's smartphone.
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Thank you. (Applause)
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Thank you, sock model.
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So this is a drawing
of my preliminary design.
of my preliminary design.
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My desire to create
a sensor-based technology
a sensor-based technology
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perhaps stemmed from my lifelong love
for sensors and technology.
for sensors and technology.
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When I was six years old,
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an elderly family friend
fell down in the bathroom
fell down in the bathroom
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and suffered severe injuries.
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I became concerned
about my own grandparents
about my own grandparents
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and decided to invent
a smart bathroom system.
a smart bathroom system.
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Motion sensors would be installed
inside the tiles of bathroom floors
inside the tiles of bathroom floors
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to detect the falls of elderly patients
whenever they fell down in the bathroom.
whenever they fell down in the bathroom.
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Since I was only six years old at the time
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and I hadn't graduated
from kindergarten yet,
from kindergarten yet,
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I didn't have the necessary resources and
tools to translate my idea into reality,
tools to translate my idea into reality,
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but nonetheless, my research experience
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really implanted in me a firm desire
to use sensors to help the elderly people.
to use sensors to help the elderly people.
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I really believe that sensors can improve
the quality of life of the elderly.
the quality of life of the elderly.
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When I laid out my plan, I realized
that I faced three main challenges:
that I faced three main challenges:
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first, creating a sensor;
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second, designing a circuit;
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and third, coding a smartphone app.
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This made me realize that my project
was actually much harder to realize
was actually much harder to realize
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than I initially had thought it to be.
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First, I had to create a wearable sensor
that was thin and flexible enough
that was thin and flexible enough
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to be worn comfortably
on the bottom of the patient's foot.
on the bottom of the patient's foot.
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After extensive research and testing
of different materials like rubber,
of different materials like rubber,
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which I realized was too thick to be worn
snugly on the bottom of the foot,
snugly on the bottom of the foot,
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I decided to print a film sensor
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with electrically conductive
pressure-sensitive ink particles.
pressure-sensitive ink particles.
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Once pressure is applied, the connectivity
between the particles increases.
between the particles increases.
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Therefore, I could design a circuit
that would measure pressure
that would measure pressure
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by measuring electrical resistance.
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Next, I had to design
a wearable wireless circuit,
a wearable wireless circuit,
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but wireless signal transmission
consumes lots of power
consumes lots of power
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and requires heavy, bulky batteries.
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Thankfully, I was able to find out
about the Bluetooth low energy technology,
about the Bluetooth low energy technology,
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which consumes very little power
and can be driven by a coin-sized battery.
and can be driven by a coin-sized battery.
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This prevented the system
from dying in the middle of the night.
from dying in the middle of the night.
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Lastly, I had to code a smartphone app
that would essentially transform
that would essentially transform
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the care-giver's smartphone
into a remote monitor.
into a remote monitor.
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For this, I had to expand upon
my knowledge of coding with Java and XCode
my knowledge of coding with Java and XCode
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and I also had to learn about how to code
for Bluetooth low energy devices
for Bluetooth low energy devices
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by watching YouTube tutorials
and reading various textbooks.
and reading various textbooks.
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Integrating these components, I was able
to successfully create two prototypes,
to successfully create two prototypes,
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one in which the sensor
is embedded inside a sock,
is embedded inside a sock,
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and another that's
a re-attachable sensor assembly
a re-attachable sensor assembly
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that can be adhered anywhere
that makes contact
that makes contact
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with the bottom of the patient's foot.
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I've tested the device on my grandfather
for about a year now,
for about a year now,
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and it's had a 100 percent success rate
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in detecting the over 900
known cases of his wandering.
known cases of his wandering.
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Last summer, I was able
to beta test my device
to beta test my device
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at several residential
care facilities in California,
care facilities in California,
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and I'm currently incorporating
the feedback
the feedback
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to further improve the device
into a marketable product.
into a marketable product.
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Testing the device on a number of patients
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made me realize that I needed
to invent solutions
to invent solutions
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for people who didn't want
to wear socks to sleep at night.
to wear socks to sleep at night.
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So sensor data, collected
on a vast number of patients,
on a vast number of patients,
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can be useful for improving patient care
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and also leading to a cure
for the disease, possibly.
for the disease, possibly.
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For example, I'm currently examining
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correlations between the frequency
of a patient's nightly wandering
of a patient's nightly wandering
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and his or her daily activities and diet.
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One thing I'll never forget
is when my device first caught
is when my device first caught
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my grandfather's wandering
out of bed at night.
out of bed at night.
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At that moment, I was really struck
by the power of technology
by the power of technology
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to change lives for the better.
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People living happily and healthfully --
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that's the world that I imagine.
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Thank you very much.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kenneth Shinozuka - Smart product inventorKenneth Shinozuka designs smart products ... He's been doing so since he was in kindergarten.
Why you should listen
When he was six years old, a family friend of Kenneth Shinozuka fell down in the bathroom. The friend was ok -- but the incident inspired him to design a motion detection system that could be embedded in bathroom tiles. He never actually made one in real life (remember, he was only six) ... but he was hooked on both the promise of invention and the potential of technology.
Since then, Shinozuka has designed smart devices for his grandfather, who has Alzheimer's disease. One invention that caught the eye of both the media and awards programs such as the Google Science Fair: a pair of smart socks, designed to send an alert to a caregiver if a patient gets out of bed. In 2014, he won the $50,000 Scientific American Science in Action Award, while he was also a 2014 Davidson Fellow.
Kenneth Shinozuka | Speaker | TED.com